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Top-ranked Occupational Therapy textbook updated

KALAMAZOO--Two Western Michigan University professors have edited a fourth edition of one of the top 10 textbooks in use in curricula across the country and world.

Drs. Ben Atchison and Diane Dirette, professors of occupational therapy, edited their previous edition of "Conditions in Occupational Therapy," which was published in November by Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.

The book features chapters by the editors as well as several other members of WMU's OT faculty: Brandon Morkut, David Orchanian and Michelle Suare as well as Drs. Ann Chapleau and Carla Chase.

It focuses on chronic health problems and their impact on an individual's physical, cognitive, psychological and social capabilities. Readers learn how the patient's age, life tasks, and living environment affect occupational therapy needs, and how to determine what occupational therapy services to provide. Case studies at the end of every chapter help students apply the content to real-life clinical situations.

The updated edition includes new chapters on vision disorders, muscular dystrophy, infectious diseases and developmental trauma disorder. In addition, the expanded art program includes more photos, drawings, charts, and graphs.

Atchison is WMU co-director of the Interdisciplinary Teacher Education Program for Health Professionals and a founding member of WMU's Children's Trauma Assessment Center. He also is coordinating development of a curriculum for Trauma Assessment Certification to be provided by CTAC in collaboration with the Trauma Loss Center, which credentials trauma therapists across the nation.

Dirette is editor-in-chief of the University's new Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, a peer-reviewed, open-access electronic journal. Her area of expertise is in physical dysfunction, and her main research interests are focused on people with acquired brain injuries who have cognitive deficits.